Little Flyers Sweep Knights to Open EHL Season
Brawley Named TSR Goalie of the Week
Photo Credit: Jessica Kovalcin Photography

Aston, PA – The journey to EHL Frozen Finals began this past weekend as the Little Flyers opened the season with a home and home series against the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Knights.  Not only was Saturday the first game of the 2017-18 season, it was also the first game under new head Coach George Lewis for the Little Flyers. 

                The Knights opened the scoring just 3:13 into the first period as Knights forward Jake Fuss was able to beat Little Flyers goalie Brendahn Brawley for an early 1-0 lead.  Ryan Galvin answered back for the Little Flyer just over a minute later as he buried a backhanded pass in the slot from Alex Ochterbeck, Sasha Miniouchine was also credited with an assist on the play.  The remainder of the first period was heavily dominated by the Little Flyers, as they outshot the Knights 15-6.

                Similar to the first period, the second period saw Philadelphia significantly out shoot the Knights but early on couldn’t get one past the Knights net minder, Jared Stahel.  Just past the halfway point in the period, the Knights were assessed a five minute major and game misconduct for checking from behind.  While being shorthanded, the Knights took a two minute minor for high-sticking which gave the Little Flyers a 5-on-3 advantage for almost two minutes.  The Little Flyers would call time out to go over some assignments then get to work with the two man advantage.  Off on the ensuing faceoff the Little Flyers gained control and got the puck to the point where Brendan Coughlin unleashed a slap shot that found its way through traffic and into the back of the net, Nick Magill-Diaz and Joey Savel assisted on the play.  Just thirty four seconds later Magill-Diaz found Alex Ochterbeck in the slot who put the puck past Stahel for a 3-1 Philadelphia lead, Mitchell Hall assisted on the play as well.  Less than a minute later as the power play expired, hard fore-checking from Little Flyers forward Nate Mickey caused a turnover next to the Knight net.  The shifty Sasha Miniouchine was able to get to the puck and poke it in for a commanding 4-1 lead.  Philadelphia was assessed a bench minor for Too Many Men on the ice late in the period to give the Knights a power play chance.  A clearing attempt by Cale Coor and Miniouchine got the puck to the neutral zone where it was picked up by Avery Smith.  Smith moved into the Knights zone with a defenseman on his back, muscled to the net and slid the puck five hole. 

                  The third period was scoreless until Jake Fuss scored his second goal of the game at the 8:48 mark to cut the Little Flyers lead to 5-2.  With five minutes left, Miniouchne iced the game for the Little Flyers as he won a faceoff, going around the Knights center and scored his second goal of the game.  That was all Philadelphia needed as they won game one of the EHL season 6-2.  Brendahn Brawley picked up his first career EHL win with 18 saves.   

                On Sunday, the Little Flyers took the two hour trip to Wilkes/Barre Scranton for the Knights home opener.  The Knights would try to pressure Brawley early, challenging him to make several saves in the opening minutes of the first period but the first year Little Flyers goaltender was up to the task.  Philadelphia captain Joey Savel opened the scoring with a power play goal midway through the period as he buried a back door pass from line mate Alex Ochterbeck.  The Little Flyers doubled their lead two minutes later when Avery Smith jabbed a puck to the slot for a cutting Nate Mickey who backhanded the puck high over the Knight goalie for his first goal of the season.  

                Philadelphia's penalty killing units would be relied on heavily all afternoon as they found themselves short handed seven times in the game.  Just over a minute into the second period Wilkes Barre/Scranton had a big opportunity to cut into Philadelphia's lead as they were on a 5-on-3 power play.  The Philly defense did a good job limiting prime scoring chances, clearing rebounds and bodies from in front of Brawley.  As the first penalty expired Cale Coor cleared the puck out of Philadelphia's defensive zone to a wide open Alex Ochterbeck.  All by himself, Ochterbeck slid a backhander five hole for his second goal of the year.  “Our offense settled in nicely after the first period of game one.  We got contributions from everyone on all three lines with is what we’re looking for.  There are some things we are going to work on and try to get better each week” said Ochterbeck about Philadelphia’s balanced scoring attack this weekend.  Brawley's hot play in net continued through the second period and he even got some help from the crossbar on a Knights breakaway to preserve the 3-0 lead.  In the closing minutes of the period, good defense from Joey Savel led to offense as he deflected a puck and took it all by himself into the Knights zone, scoring his second goal of the game.

                The third period saw the two teams trade numerous scoring chances as play went back and forth for most of the period.  Neither team could find the back of the net until the 16th minute when Philadelphia scored two goals in a 36 second span.  First, Sasha Miniouchine scored a wraparound goal after taking a Nate Mickey pass behind the net, his third goal of the season.  Then, Matt Sheaffer tipped in a Trevor Lewandoski shot from the blue line to seal the 6-0 win for Philadelphia.  Brawley picked up his 2nd win in as many games with an impressive 36 save shutout.  Special teams were a major factor for Philadelphia as the Power Play units went 3 of 7 (42%) and penalty kill was a perfect 13 of 13 in the two games played.  “The special teams were good for us this weekend; they obviously played a massive role with three of our twelve goals coming on the power play and our PK was really good as well.  The guys held their team meeting late last week to go over their team goals and they came back to our staff with top specialty teams in the league on that list so we are off to a good start” said Little Flyers Head Coach George Lewis after Sundays win. 
 

Brawley Named TSR Hockey Goaltender of the Week

                The Eastern Hockey League announced Monday that Little Flyers goalie Brendahn Brawley was named the TSR Hockey Goaltender of the Week for his two wins this past weekend.  Brawley, the 6’2” 1998 birth year goalie from nearby Morton, PA was quick to credit his teammates for their efforts while speaking about receiving the award “Everyone was out there grinding and playing hard.  I thought our guys were good in all three zones all weekend, particularly in our zone everyone got back and that was a big reason I was able to play so well and see the shots.  Overall I’m happy with our performance this weekend, we know what we need to improve on and we’ll do that every day” said Brawley.  In the two wins this weekend, Brawley made 56 saves on 58 shots faced, including a 36 save shutout to close out the weekend series on the road Sunday.  “Any time one of our guys wins an award it’s considered a team award here.  The team played really well around him this weekend.  With that being said, Brendahn did a great job for us this weekend.  He made all of the saves he needed to make to give us a chance to win both games” said Little Flyers Head Coach George Lewis.

Brawley and the rest of the Little Flyers will be on the road this upcoming weekend with two games against the New York Bobcats at the Dix Hills ice Rink.  All games can be viewed live on HockeyTv.com with a subscription or follow online at www.easternhockeyleague.org for live updates. 

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